Culvert pipe



plan of providing a secondary Patented Oct. 6, 1925.

UNITED STATES ALEXANDER B. B. HARRIS, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

' i cULvERT PIPE.

Application led May 22, 1922. Serial No. 562,682.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER B. B. HARRIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented a certain newl and useful Improvement in Culvert Pipes, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

A diiiiculty that is encountered in connection with culvert pipes extending underneath railway embankments and the like is that dbris is carried into the ends thereof by the water passing through the same, so that often these pipes become choked at the ends and fail to perform their intended functions. In other words, when therend of a culvert pipe becomes stopped up or choked it will no longer permit the escape of water therethrough from the adjacent low-lying land and the consequence is that such land will frequently become Hooded, injuring crops, and causing the, embankment to be Washed out.

The object of the present invention is to produce a culvert pipe which will operate eiciently under conditions which would bring about a complete choking of an ordinary pipe.

It will always be found, in the case of a culvert pipe of any considerable length, that when a stoppage has occurred the dbris will have entered and come to rest a comparatively short distance within the inlet end. In other words, the choking of a culvert pipe takes place near the inlet end and does not continue throughout the length of the pipe. I have therefore conceived the inlet which opens into the culvert pipe at a point beyond that which will be filled with dbris when a choking of the culvert pipe occurs; this secondary inlet being adapted to be utilized or not while the main inlet is functioning, as may be desired.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a transverse section through a fragment of a railroad embankment con-l taining a culvert arranged in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the right hand enl of the culvert as it appears in Fig. l; an

Fig. 3 is an end view of the culvert, illustrating in dot-ted lines different positions which the secondary inlet may take.

Referring to the drawing, l represents the main portion of a culvert pipe passing underneath a railroad embankment 2, and 3 represents the inlet section of such pipe. For the sake of convenience and cheapness of manufacture I prefer to' make the section 3 as a separate piece. The member 3 is of such a length that when the inlet end becomes choked, the inner end will be left wholly orV at least substantially unobstructed; the line l in Fig. l representing approximately the inner face or slope of the dbris by means of which the inlet end is choked. A secondary inlet, placed at one side Vof the culvert pipe, is provided.v In the arrangement shown, this secondary inlet comprises a piece of pipe 5 in the form of an elbow connected at one end to the pipe 3 near the inner end of the latter and having its other end covered by means of a basketlike grating 6. The grated end of the secondary inlet may be placed at any point which will allow access thereto by the water in case the main inlet is choked. In the arrangement shown in full lines, the grated secondary inlet is placed above and somewhat inward of the main inlet, but this particular location has been selected only for the purpose of illustration; the location of the secondary inlet lengthwise of the culvert pipe depending largely on the conditions under which the device is to be used, as does also the position of the secondary inlet angularly of the axis of the culvert pipe. Even in the case of the particular form of my invention shown, the secondary inlet may be placed at either side of the main inlet, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, and at any desired elevation relatively to the main inlet.

By making the section 3 in the form of a separate unit, the main portion of the culvert pipe may be made of tile or concrete or any other permanent construction, the member 3 with its secondary inlet, if desired, being made of sheet metal which may be replaced when it has become Worn out. The inner end of the section 3 may simply be slipped into the adjacent end of the main portion of the pipe, fitting tightly enough to form a continuous conduit .and yet permitting the section 8 to be turned in order to locate the secondary inlet most advantageously.

It will be seen that when the main inlet becomes choked the Water will pass into the culvert pipe through the secondary inlet, entering the pipe beyond the mass which is acting to stop up the main inlet; the Water first rising to a su'liicient height to reach the secondary inlet it the latter lies completely above the main inlet. In some cases there may be no objection to a rise of the Water level and the secondary inlet may therefore be placed Wholly above the main inlet, if desired. In other cases it may not be desirable to permit any considerable rise of Water above the top ot the main inlet and therefore the secondary inlet may be placed Wholly or partially above the top of the main inlet. In the arrangement last mentioned the Water may, under normal conditions. flow into the culvert pipe through both inlets.

By providing the auxiliary inlet With a large basket-like grating, Whose surface is much greater than the cross section of the pipe or conduit 5, it Will be very difficultfor sticks and other dbris to stop up the auxiliary inlet. particularly Where the grating takes a more or less henispherlcal torzn which Will not afford a very stable rest for a stick floating up in contact therewith.

IVhile I have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred vform of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements Which come Within the terms employed in the delfinitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A culvert pipe having at one endV a detachable section forming the inlet and longer than the distance to which in service will penetrate a mass of debris which chokes the inlet end of the pipe, and a secondary inlet device associated With said detachable section and opening into the latter near the inner end.

2. A culvert pipe having at one end a detachable section forming the inlet and longer than the distance to which in service will penetrate a mass of dbris Which chokes the inlet end of the pipe, and a secondary inlet device associated with said detachable section and opening into the latter near the inner end, said detachable section being: adapted to be turned about its axis to In testimony whereof, I sign thisspecitication.

ALEXANDER R. B. HARRIS. 

